The Traditional River Fishermen Association has opposed extraction of sand in the Netravathi and Phalguni river beds. Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, the Association’s General Secretary Naveen Saliyan said recently a survey of the river beds was carried out by the National Institute of Technology – Karnataka, (NIT-K) Surathkal and approval was granted to undertake extraction of sand from the areas that were identified .
The district sand monitoring committee is likely to issue permits for extraction of sand in these areas which are in the coastal regulatory zone. Mr. Saliyan said the survey findings of NIT-K is disputable and it is contrary to the findings of survey done earlier by the then Dean of College of Fisheries, A. Senthil Vel, who had not found any sand dunes in the river beds.
“We spend all out time in the two rivers and we have not seen any sand dunes,” he said The Association will write to the District Sand Monitoring Committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra not to grant licences for extraction of sand in the two river beds.
Abdul Tayyab, president of Traditional Fishermen Association, Kasaba Bengre, said following stoppage of sand extraction in the river beds for the last a few weeks fishermen are getting good catch of fishes, shells and other marine elements, especially near estuary. “If sand extraction is allowed then we will be loosing on these marine elements,” Mr. Tayyab said.